STICKY: USER GUIDE FOR FROSTWIRE 5

PLEASE NOTE: Currently This Thread is not very up to date, but we are working through it gently . Two excellent and concise up to date guides to Frostwire 5 will be found >>HERE<< and >>HERE<<The Super Happy Fun Comprehensive Guide to FrostWire 5--by Aubrey, the friendly lumberjack? :P

FrostWire 5 is a next-generation BitTorrent client which abandons the old Gnutella network and now uses the BitTorrent filesharing network. It is hoped that this move will help users see less spam, have a faster experience, and (most importantly) have an easier time sharing files with your friends.

IMPORTANT: After Many releases, with the release or Frostwire 5,2,11 The Frostwire Team is feeling confident that they have a pretty fine Torrent client. Development and improvements of course continue, thanks to much input from testers and users. It is recommended that users update to this version (as of 5 December 2011) You can also monitor the changelog to read all the latest release notes.

FrostWire 5 introduces:

New Substance Look-and-Feel system for a prettier FrostWire

Torrents only - Gnutella functionality has been removed.

Partial downloads - only want a few songs from an album? Have them without downloading the whole folder.

Share files with your friends in mere seconds using MagLnk (without a need for firewall configuration!)

Faster than ever loading and installation

The ability to search multiple major torrent trackers to find exactly what you're looking for

Comments

One of the first things you'll notice when loading the new FrostWire 5 is that the UI (User Interface) has been totally revamped and now uses the Substance Look-and-Feel skinning system. This allows for much more flexible skinning than FrostWire 4.21 and is much easier on the eyes than the old UI which was getting a little rusty.

The biggest change you'll notice is the removal of all connectivity to the Gnutella network. FrostWire 5 relies solely on torrents for sharing (these will be explained in the next section). To search for files, use the search pane as before.

The option to search for a specific type of file has been removed since it is no longer needed. By default you can search for the name of any file you want and you'll find a listing of torrents from multiple different trackers such as Mininova, BTJunkie, or Clearbits. As before, double-check on any file to instantly begin the download. When it's finished the torrent will be verified and you'll begin to seed the file/folder (if you've chosen to in Preferences) at which point you can open it. You can also open .torrent files (and magnet links) directly in FrostWire without a search but that will be covered in the next section.

FrostWire 5 also allows partial downloading of torrents. This enables you to download only files you select from a particular torrent. For example, let's say a band has a few great singles but you don't want to download their whole album. With FrostWire 5 you can click the + icon (next to the torrent title) to pick which files you would like to download.

For many FrostWire users, torrents are an unknown oasis. They usually download much faster than files over the Gnutella network and are often not dependant on a specific seeder (person) being online at one time. Throughout this section we'll be using a variety of terms that could be confusing if you've never dealt with them before.

Glossary

Seeder - A person sharing a file. This person already has a specific file or folder and is allowing others to download it from them. This is referred to as seeding a file.

Leech(er) - A person downloading a file. This person does not have the target file and is downloading it from a (or many) seeders.

.torrent file - A small file that can be looked at as a list of instructions on how to download a particular file. It has information that FrostWire will use to find seeders that have your desired file. Note that this file is not the video/song you are looking for. The .torrent file is downloaded,

Tracker - An online server that keeps track of everyone who is seeding the file. The .torrent file tells FrostWire where the tracker is so that it can find seeders with the file you want.

How do I download via torrent?
Da stepz:

A .torrent file is downloaded to your computer. FrostWire reads this file which tells it the tracker to use as well as some other preliminary information on the file.

FrostWire contacts the tracker for the torrent to find other peers that are seeding the file.

FrostWire contacts the peers and begins to leech (download) the file.

Once the download is finished, FrostWire verifies the file to make sure all of the pieces are in order. It also makes sure that no malicious seeders added any malware to the file.

FrostWire then begins to seed the file (if you have it set to do this in preferences) so that other users can download the file as well

You can now use the file in whichever program you would normally.

Torrents are frequently quicker than files downloaded over the Gnutella network since there are sometimes thousands of people seeding one specific file. As a result you should experience much faster downloads in FrostWire 5. As well, finding files with large numbers of seeders is usually an indication that the file is safe for download. They are certainly an improvement over the previous protocol. Torrents can be used by large websites to distribute files without needing to pay for a download server and the bandwidth to support it. Others receive the file, and in turn once someone has leeched the file they will seed it to others to help make the file more accessible.

To share files with the masses you'll need to use FrostWire to create torrents. A torrent can contain either one individual file or a number of files inside a folder. It can contain a mix of your favourite songs, a feature-length film, it could even be a document that you wish to make available. To start, click the "Create New Torrent" link in the File menu.

The Create New Torrent dialog box will appear, which should look something like this.

First select what you want to share. You can either choose one specific file or a folder of files. The "Trackerless Torrent" option is recommended for beginner users, however power users who wish to list their torrent on a specific tracker may do so by unchecking the box and entering in the tracker's announce URLs. The "Start Seeding" checkbox will ensure that you begin to seed your torrent (otherwise no one will be able to download it!). Click Save torrent as... and enter a name for your new .torrent file. You can now give this link out to other users (or wait for them to find it on a tracker website/search). That's all there is to it, you've now created your first torrent using FrostWire 5.

You can also open individual torrent files if you've downloaded them using a web tracker or search. Just go to File > Open .Torrent or Magnet and select the file you want. FrostWire will handle all the rest.

Sharing with your friends
FrostWire 5 makes it easier than ever to share files with your friends in seconds by using the new MagLnk website. No longer do you have to worry about e-mailing files (Uploading attachment.. 5%. Uploading attachment.. 6%. Uploading attachment.. 5.5%) or transferring them using an instant messenger. FrostWire 5 lets you quickly send files to other users through the fun of magnet links!

To send a file/folder you can just drop a file/folder on the FrostWire window, or you can first select a "Send..." link in the File menu. For a file, click "Send File...", and for a folder click "Send Folder...".
Then select the file you want to send...

FrostWire will then create a link for you to share with your friends. You can tweet it, copy it, or just look at it with disbelief. When a user enters that link with FrostWire 5 running, they will automatically begin to download the file from you. No charges, no bells or whistles, they get the file and nothing else as soon as they click the link. Note that to use these links the leecher must be using FrostWire 5.0.6 or later. If they are using another torrent client that accepts magnet links you can click the "Copy Magnet" button which you can paste to them instead.

Please note that this is not for sensitive/private files! Once you've shared the link the file is available for anyone to download via FrostWire or another BitTorrent client, so make sure that you are only uploading files that you're ready to make public. After your friend has taken the file you can remove the torrent (right-click the file in the Transfers pane, Cancel Download) and you'll stop seeding it (or you can continue seeding if as you wish).

FrostWire 5 has introduced the next-generation of file-sharing and we hope you like it.

In #support on the FrostWire Community Chat network we've received hundreds of questions from users asking about FrostWire 5. I hope to answer here some of the most common questions and continue updating it as users experience the program more and more.

Why can't I find any songs?
FrostWire 5 has done away with the Gnutella P2P network and has transitioned to the BitTorrent method of file sharing. Most torrents are comprised of groups of files (An entire album of music instead of individual songs). Until the FrostWire community has fully transitioned to FrostWire 5 the selection of individual files may be scarce. You can help contribute to the community by creating torrent files of anything you may wish to share and then sharing them using the "Trackerless Torrent" method. You can also search for artists' names or album names and select individual files using the Partial Downloads feature. Click the + next to torrents to see their contents and select which files you want.

The chat client is broken!!!
The program is very early in the development cycle and the developers are learning of new bugs every day. Patches will be released soon and we hope to have all the kinks ironed out ASAP.

How do I search for a specific type of file? (Video, Audio, Program)
This is no longer possible exactly in FrostWire 5. Since torrents usually come in folders you can use the Partial Downloads feature to select which files you want out of a particular torrent. However you can, in most cases, add the word: "mp3" or any other file type you are looking for, at the end of your search and you’ll be searching only for torrents that contain any of those file types in them.

How Do I save my songs?
To save songs them as a playlist in Frostwire, right click and "Show in Library". Click on the Name column which will list the songs in a decent order. If the songs are not grouped in type (like mp3), click the Type column. Then select all the songs you want to show, and add to playlist when you can select a name for the playlist and they will take a few moments to be added to the list.

You can add songs from the Audio View or the Finished Downloads view to a another program, or as copies to your desktop or other location by highlighting a group of songs, and dragging them.

Note that there is also an "Explore" button in the Transfer View, which takes you to the Torrent Data folder, where the files themselves are saved. However if you have made a partial download this will show some unfinished fragments necessary for the Torrent downloading process. The above method avoids these.

If you use iTunes right click on the seeding torrent in the transfer window, and "send audio to iTunes".

Note that songs will remain in your playlists whilst they are in the Torrent Data folder and if you Remove Torrent or Cancel they will remain in place but will not be seeded (shared). I however you "Remove Torrent and Data" The files will be removed from your computer, which is why copying files to another location and perhaps saving to disc or an external drive is always wise in case of accidents, computer break down etc.

NOTE. The above procedures are good for Mac computers. I can not be 100% certain they are good for Windows.

Need some live help with FrostWire 5? - Join Community Chat using Frostwire, and once connected type /join #support OR Click here!

To do that you would need to change your operating system program settings since FrostWire doesn't have its own option to be the default torrent manager.
Assuming you use Windows Vista or 7, go to Start button > Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs: Associate a file type or protocol with a program. Scroll down the list to select the .torrent extension and click the Change Program button above to choose an alternative application.

If you are using Mac go to any .torrent file. Ctrl click on the file> get info. Clock on Open with and choose Frostwire, and click "Change All" to "use this application to open all documents like this one". If you find you cannot change this permanently and have Limewire installed please let us know.

Regarding your advice on how to assign Frostwire as the default program for opening .torrent files, this does not work, at least for me. You go through the steps, but it will not let you assign Frostwire as the default program. Any further thoughts would be appreciated.

@BlackthorneJ Please tell us which Operating system you have and which Torrent clients. I did find an issue having Limewire 5 installed on Mac OS X

@cluck, I have on a few occasions found this happens. Restarting Frostwire always solved it for me.

@brina Your saved files and files you previously shared in Frostwire 4 will be their folders as before. I see little to be gained by adding them to your Frostwire5 library at this moment, although you can copy (I advise Copy so that you do not delete anything by mistake) to your Torrent Data folder. In the near future the Frostwire5 library and player will become much more user friendly and then adding to the library will be recommended … until then I suggest playing your files in WMP .. iTunes or what ever player you prefer.

How come everytime, I download a specific file, the Internet opens, how can I stop this from happening every time?

You CANNOT get rid of the popups -- this is how this new brilliant (or should I say not so brilliant) version of Frostwire works -- almost like spyware/adware.

Funny how the makers of frostwire talk about how you SOMETIMES download spam advertising in the old frostwire, yet with this new version, you ALWAYS get spam advertising right from Frostwire themselves since this new version ALWAYS opens up a popups EACH TIME you do a download. So what's better, downloading an ad on a FEW occasions and getting access to a HUGE library of music in the old frostwire, or the new version which has a fraction of the music and popups/advertising EACH time you do a download? The answer for almost everyone has been clear -- the old verison of frostwire rocks (check our the revolt and complaints builidng up and being posted by sooooo many users right here in these frostwire messages forum things).

Since you don’t like the new version of frostwire (and if you want to get rid of the annoying popups which are even MORE annoying than getting spam sometimes in teh old V4), you can install the old GOOD version of frostwire, V4 (that does NOT have these popups every time you download and has a HUGE library of music when compared to the new version which has a tiny amount of music), by going to the following link:

This is a link to frostwire V4.21.6 and NOT 4.21.8…the latest version of frostwire 4 turned off file sharing by default which made no sense whatever and was probably done in an attempt to kill off the music network that all of us built, and force users to switch to this new useless version of frostwire that’s torrent only and has these annoying popups each time you do a download.

This "torrent" stuff is to confusing for us members who don't know what it even is. I don't like to download complete albums because some of us may not WANT the full album, but only certain songs. I don't like not being able to put in a singer's name and song title, and seeing that information pop up, for us to download. I don't like not seeing the .MP3, so that we may KNOW what is music and what isn't. There are members out there who put up PORN on this program and I don't want to risk the chance of downloading that, due to "torrents". With the older version, we were able to skip those and actually FIND what we are looking for. Also, why the need to NOT put our previous downloads into the library? I find it very unuseful. I thought ALL of my music was gone and had to go SEARCHING the whole program for them. I don't like having to do that, just to listen to the songs that I have already downloaded. Having them in the library is the BETTER option.

There is actually FAR FAR less chance of accidentally getting PORN using Torrents.

As for the point you make about not having your old downloads in the library, this is being worked on right now. Frostire 5 has a new player which does not stall on every track and very soon the Library will be redesigned to make the Library/Player really neat and something which the team are sure that users will really like.

For now it is possible to put previous downloads in your torrent data folder, so that they show in the Fristwire library, but personally I would wait until the Library is completed, and can be navigated easily. It will not be long

I tried to download a song and just isn't working. it says downloading but while it is saying that. Nothing is happening. Do you have any suggestions. I actually like the old one better. Also how do you create a torrent so you can share your music with other people on Frostwire?

I tried to download a song and just isn't working. it says downloading but while it is saying that. Nothing is happening. Do you have any suggestions. I actually like the old one better. Also how do you create a torrent so you can share your music with other people on Frostwire?

Catherine

You need to download from a result showing a number seeds .. some show zero and will not download.

If you have upgraded from 4.0.7 to 4.0.8 please tell us.

How to make a torrent is one of the subjects covered on page 1 of this thread.

it may just be me but this is the worst forstwire update so far..i cant search for music alone i have to comb through all these files, then it takes me to a website to download the song and adds it to my desktop. i cant just download the song i want i have to go through the album or DL the album if i wanted the whole album id go buy it. ill give thise 2 weeks if i still cant DL im threw with frostwire. let me know why im having these probs :twisted:..and to make it even worse i cant use the old version because you brilliantly made it so it wont connect so im forced to go through this butchered version of frostwire.

Ok, I d/l this version because I thought it was be the same or better. & I'm having no luck. When I hit search, nothing pops up, & I've tried resetting like I've seen others say in recents posts. I'm running Mac OS X 10..6.8, & didn't have a problem with the older version or if I used Utorrent. What else do I do? Cause this really sucks

Hi, i just updated to the new frostwire. unlike most people, i actually think the new way is a lot better. However, there is the slight problem where anything i click to download doesnt download at a reasonable rate. the file has over 200 seeders, and it is in my download box, but it is downloading a 100mb file at 2kb/s. why is it so slow? is there any way to speed things up?

This could be a wholle bunch of issues, from your download speeds being throttled by your ISP. Or just trying to download at a busy time (peak times)
Are you getting this speed for all torrents? Try selecting something more popular (if that's not the case). Or try downloading at a more suitable time (after midnight or before mid-day is a good time)

I have downloaded version 5.0.8 and I go to open it and it starts the setup wizard and I get to a page asking me to select a folder to save Torrent data. I get stuck here because after I select the folder there is nothing more to select. There is a message at the top of the window about selecting whether or not to enable seeding but nowhere to select it?

Ok, I d/l this version because I thought it was be the same or better. & I'm having no luck. When I hit search, nothing pops up, & I've tried resetting like I've seen others say in recents posts. I'm running Mac OS X 10..6.8, & didn't have a problem with the older version or if I used Utorrent. What else do I do? Cause this really sucks

@Jval1283 Sorry for the delay replying. Posting onto an already overcrowded thread is not to be advised lol

Please close Frostwire completely and Go to user > Your name > Library > Preferences > Frostwire5 Please delete the Frostwire5 folder you have reached and restart and reset up Frostwire. You can reopen all the torrents which will show in the Frostwire Library > Torrent Files.